Out of all the classes I've taken at UCLA so far, this was the only one I genuinely enjoyed going to. The professor is extremely engaging, and the material is actually interesting. The midterm and final are HARD--but the reviews that he holds the week of MTs/finals are very helpful. Basically he gives around 30 questions at the review sections that we should know the answers to, something like: "What are the effects of reciprocal altruism" and if you can answer and explain all the questions, you'll do fine on the final and midterm. I would call my mom and talk to her about all the questions and explain the answers to her and we'd have a discussion about them. She doesn't know the subject material, so it was like I was teaching the material to her, which really helped me piece it all together in my head, so I would recommend that strategy. Weekly quizzes were challenging at times, but only because the TA's are nit-picky. You do get a set of like six questions in lecture beforehand (optional, but one of them will be on the quiz so you should definitely do them), so it is not hard to prepare, just takes effort. Also, discussion sections are LONG but not a lot of work. You will have to do a presentation and a debate at some point during section, but as long as you meet together with your group beforehand and have a plan they're not that bad. The workload is doable, but it is kind of heavy. I didn't really read the textbook and I ended up with a B+, but like any other class, the grade you get will reflect how much effort you put in throughout the quarter. I went to/watched and took good notes on all the lectures, and studied a lot before tests, but still had plenty of time for my other classes. The slides are posted, but you'll need to either go to lecture or watch the BruinCast because he's not the type to write down all the information that you need on slides, usually it's just a diagram or picture and he'll explain it--which is nice, it's not like those classes where you take up 7 notebook pages copying notes from a board (boring). All in all, I would take this class again, and Dr. Phelan is my favorite professor of all time! He's really funny and passionate about what he's teaching, and he's and definitely in the top 5 favorite teachers I've had in my life.

BEST class and professor! ever!!! I took this class fall quarter and I have to say I loved it so much. The professor is super engaging and the lectures are actually really interesting and fun. The material you learn is also super applicable to everyday life and it was actually cool to understand it. The workload isn't bad just make sure to do the "optional" problem sets so you can ace the quizzes. With the quizzes get good at being super specific in your answers so you can get a good grade. Study lots for midterm and final, not too bad but again super knit picky with short answer responses.

BEST PROFESSOR HANDS DOWN. He made lectures engaging and connected topics to current issues. He shows passion for teaching and always welcomes questions. The midterm and final were tricky but still definitely worth taking the class.

LS 15 was definitely a great class. I did flunk the midterm which really hurt my grade but this class is easily doable especially for those who need a science GE but aren't science majors. Lectures aren't mandatory but I highly recommend that you go. Very helpful unless you receive notes from someone else. No homework at all. Every week in section you have a one question quiz which you can answer most with common sense. But you are given a packet every week with several questions on them and the TA picks one of them as the quiz question. You don't have to fill out the packet but it is helpful since those questions may appear on the midterm and final. Prof. Phelan also hosts review sessions for both midterm and final which I highly recommend you go to. The midterm and final aren't exactly easy, there's both multiple choice and essay questions but as long as you study you should pass. Lastly, you do have to do one debate in section with a partner but it isn't bad. My TA was Ian and he was great.

I did enjoy class lectures very much. I honestly struggle to understand biology but heck it was a really good class. I got a B was because I felt like I did pretty poorly in the midterm, but if you do good in the quizzes, nail the midterm and final, you'll do fine. Just re-watch the lectures, try to understand the topics well enough that you can teach them to other people. You don't have a lot of work but you have a lot of study time and reading to do, but you CAN do it! :)